French Open 2016 Women's Final: Muguruza vs. Williams Predictions

Serena Williams will take on one of the game's brightest young stars in Garbine Muguruza Saturday in the 2016 French Open Women's final.

With 21 career major victories, Williams is one Grand Slam tournament win away from tying Steffi Graf for the most in the Open era. Muguruza is a 22-year-old and will be playing in her first final at Roland Garros.

According to the WTA rankings, both players are among the top five in the world. Williams is ranked first overall, while Muguruza is No. 4.

The high stakes and the marquee status of both players should make for an exciting match. Here is the schedule, along with some predictions for Saturday.

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	Network	Live Stream
Saturday, June 4	Muguruza vs. Williams	9 a.m.	NBC	NBCSports.com

There Will be Three Sets

The two have some history, particularly in major tournaments. 

Williams is 3-1 against Muguruza, with two meetings coming in the Australian Open and one apiece at the French Open and Wimbledon. The one loss is significant, as a 20-year-old Muguruza knocked out Williams in Paris in 2014.

According the ESPN, the straight-sets loss, which Muguruza handled to the tune of two 6-2 sets, was the most lopsided loss of Williams' career at a Grand Slam tournament.

Muguruza also pushed Williams to three sets at the 2015 Australian Open and lost in two hard-fought sets in the Wimbledon final last year, so she has had some success against the sport's most dominant player.

Williams has started slow in her two previous matches. She dropped the first set to Yulia Putintseva, and she also had to battle to win a tiebreaker in her first set against Kiki Bertens. Muguruza has yet to lose a set since her opening-round match.

The two are more closely-matched when looking at their history and recent play, making this showdown destined to go to a third set.

Williams Pulls Out a Win

Muguruza and Williams both play aggressive tennis, but the 34-year-old veteran has been on this stage before.

With her highly decorated career and three French Open titles, Williams is no stranger to the pressure of playing in a major final. Check out her win percentage, per ESPN Stats and Info:

ESPN's Peter Bodo and Greg Garber each went with Muguruza in an upset, while Johnette Howard picked Williams in a three-set thriller, so there are some who like the Spaniard's chances. 

However, Williams has a championship pedigree that is unmatched by anyone currently in the sport. She is also just a little bit better and more powerful than Muguruza.

The Spaniard is an emerging star. She appears destined to be a major champion in the near future, it just will not be on Saturday.

Statistics are courtesy of WTA.com unless otherwise noted.